Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kira Kastell

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kira Kastell, born in Rotenburg an der Fulda, studied electrical engineering at the Fachhochschule Frankfurt am Main and at the Distant Learning University in Hagen and earned her PhD on the topic of “Secure, fast, location-based handovers in hybrid networks” at the Technical University of Darmstadt. Before that, she also graduated in business administration and economics from the Distance Learning University in Hagen.

As part of her professional career, she was first involved in setting up the GSM-R digital radio network for Deutsche Bahn at Arcor AG & Co. After completing her doctorate, she moved into university teaching, from 2007 to 2009 as a professor of mobile communications in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Precision Engineering at the Technische Fachhochschule Berlin and then as a professor of transmission technology in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Fachhochschule Frankfurt am Main (now Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences). During this time, she was intermittently head of the degree program and, from 2013 to 2019, vice-president for studies and teaching at the University of Applied Sciences. In this role, she dedicated herself to, among other things, the reorganization of her area of responsibility and the successful acquisition of public funding for teaching. She also initiated the development of strategy papers for the areas of teaching, e-learning, internationalization and diversity, among others. On 1 May 2021, she assumed the office of President at Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences.

In addition, she served as chair of the VDI network “Women in Engineering” for six years (2015–2020) and remains a member of the board to this day. From 2017 to 2020, she served on the Broadcasting Council of Hessischer Rundfunk. Since 2019, she has been Chair of the Departmental Council for Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, and since January 2021, a board member of ASIIN, the Accreditation Agency for Degree Programs in Engineering, Computer Science, Natural Sciences, and Mathematics. She has also served as Chair of the Board of the University Alliance for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises since 2023. Since 2025, she has also served as chair of the “Study, Career, and Society” committee of the VDE (Association for Electrical, Electronic, and Information Technologies). Since April 1, 2026, Prof. Kastell has been a member of the Executive Board of the NRW Doctoral College (PK NRW).